People first Modern Law spoke to Stuart Kaye, Director and Co-Founder of Adams Kaye, property law specialists, to discuss how the founders’ vision and commitment to supporting people has led to the meteoric success of the firm since it launched just six months ago.
Stuart Kaye and Barney, the office Spaniel
MLM: Tell us a little about yourself and why you cofounded Adams Kaye. SK: I’m a former Partner from a medium sized law firm, having worked in that role for over nine years, having created their residential property department. I set up Adams Kaye around six months ago with my Co-Director Paul Adams. We wanted to create something a little different using our respective legal backgrounds – a hybrid of the best of what’s out there. We’ve had a rapid expansion of staff and now we’re up to 10 people, in just a few short months. Our initial fear was: ‘how are we going to source our staff’ -
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You don’t get the best out of people if you belittle, shout and swear at them. A lot of lawyers aren’t trained how to be people managers – people skills are a fine art, you either have them or you don’t. because we’ve had such an explosion of work. Our options were, do we simply fill the gaps quickly – at the risk of employing the wrong people - or do we find the right calibre of staff and then how? Obviously, the latter is the best option and through Jason and JMC Legal Recruitment, we’ve been incredibly lucky and found some absolute superstars. However, we were worried when we started to interview people as to why they’d want to join, in effect, just two men in a room! Candidates who understood us replied that they were sold on our vision, desirous of being part of something new and creative. That’s incredibly charming and rewarding! The set-up stage has been a very creative process; it’s been the most enormous fun to do this. I’m a very creative person (with a background in the theatre) and have used that experience to create something rather theatrical in itself. I often tell our team, where they may lack some confidence, to put on a performance at work, as if they were on a stage and to simply play the part, and it works! MLM: How did you bring the work in, in such a short space of time? SK: Paul and I have been in the industry a long time and built up a lot of supporters and contacts, who
I believe that I have a duty to give back and see that as an important part of what I do for our people.
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have been enormously supportive and encouraging. Our personal brands have paid dividends here but we couldn’t service all the work without our brilliant team.
have to work with that person and get on with them. This is incredibly important for us and a significant part of our recruitment investment process.
MLM: What type of recruitment culture do you champion in the firm and what is it about recruiting and nurturing people that you enjoy so much?
MLM: What have you learned from others to help you manage people? How is this useful in your own day-today management style?
SK: I was the architect in my former firm for bringing in paralegals, with a view to them being awarded training contracts - as a prize, not an entitlement. I also helped them on their journey towards becoming the next partner. I took a long-term, holistic view with every paralegal to help them to realise their potential, whatever that may be. I always think ‘what can I do to help them’, yet recognise that not everyone has the aspiration to hold high office. I was that person once and never thought I would be in the bosses’ chair (to be an owner still seems unreal at times and I have to pinch myself!). I believe that I have a duty to give back and see that as an important part of what I do for our people.
SK: I’ve learned a lot from former partners and bosses, at various firms over the years. I am very lucky to have worked for some wonderful bosses. But the most important boss of all was the most unpleasant one. When there are days that are particularly stressful (which happens to us all), I immediately think back to how he behaved towards me and I say to myself: “Stuart – don’t be like him”, and it helps (and works).
My motivation to found the firm was to create something special and get the right people around me to do that. I’ve always enjoyed the recruitment side – from receiving the CV to interviewing and placing people - and it’s a massive responsibility. You’re potentially changing someone’s life. It’s emotionally draining too. Our interviews are more about the person than the law as we need to be sure their personality fits. You can teach anyone the law but you can’t teach a person a personality. You
Of course work is stressful and I have a lot to manage and deal with but you have to put all that aside when it comes to your people. You don’t get the best out of people if you belittle, shout and swear at them. A lot of lawyers aren’t trained how to be people managers – people skills are a fine art, you either have them or you don’t. Those who end up being managers often have poor soft skills and wonder why they have a high turnover of staff. You need to consider why that is! Hold a mirror up to yourself… I personally adopt the more American approach, one that says you have to love yourself and then you can love others, and then people will work better with you. The care and attention we give ourselves as colleagues should be no less than the care and attention we give our clients.
I often tell our team, where they may lack some confidence, to put on a performance at work, as if they were on a stage and to simply play the part, and it works! MLM: Do you like to give everyone in the firm opportunities to get to know your introducers and clients? SK: Absolutely! As we’re a fairly new firm, we intend to create opportunities in the coming months ahead to send people out and about. However, we do invite lots of introducers into the office to meet our team over pizza and wine, to get to know each other better and become friends. We take a high quality approach to working with our introducers – now part of the service expected from Adams Kaye. We are in a very competitive age and there appears to be a philosophy in conveyancing, with price transparency, of a race to the bottom. This fear is ridiculous as it should instead be a race to the top. Firms should consider what they have to offer, not just what price they’re offering it for. We’re not the cheapest, in fact I’d say we’re much higher than the mid priced firms but I know that’s the value I put on my service. It has been my experience that clients are willing to pay that, as they receive a premium service for it. That‘s why employing people with the right personality, temperament and work ethic is so vital for our clients and introducers. MLM: Do you see more people doing what you have done, to use their personal brand to set up as a specialist firm? SK: I sincerely hope so! There are many complacent firms out there and leaders with differing motivations
for being in law, often for money or to do it their way - or both! There are some brilliant people being held back by complacent firms that I think can do it now – the UK has a great environment to set up and support new law firms. MLM: What next for the firm? What challenges lie ahead? SK: Our greatest challenge, as we get bigger, is to manage our people and ensure we give everyone the same time and care as those who have started the firm with us. There is a danger of being a ‘clique’ when you introduce the next phase of people into an established group so we will need to be careful here. We hope to double in size each year and in the latter part of 2020 we’re looking to have international offices too. We have so many contacts in Dubai and New York that it makes sense for us to look there and develop those links. An international flavor is something we wish to create. Of course, that’s very attractive for new talent and all part of the fun to find people to help us grow! Some of the challenges are often out of our control, such as getting on lender panels as you have to fulfill the right criteria for that. We’ve had an emotional roller coaster with panels but I am delighted to report that, thanks to a lot of hard work by all, we are now on many lender panels – within just six months! This is one of our greatest achievements to date and something I am exceptionally proud of.
Our interviews are more about the person than the law as we need to be sure their personality fits. You can teach anyone the law but you can’t teach a person a personality.
MLM: What tips and advice would you give to those looking to go it alone? AK: There’s no way we could have predicted that we’d be in the position we’re in today, within the first six months of trading. We recently looked at our original business plan and observed that we exceeded our growth estimate by 150% - it’s extraordinary. I think the reason why the growth was so large was partly due to the fact that, like most lawyers, we went for an ultra-conservative approach to our growth plans. My advice would be: set realistic goals rather than aspirational ones, think about what you need to survive and build on that. Get a fantastic recruiter too. Jason and his team at JMC Legal Recruitment have been wonderful in terms of their knowledge, contacts, support and indeed friendship. The calibre of people they have put before us has been excellent – they have really taken the time to get to know the firm and us as directors. It’s how I like to work and we’re glad to have them on board. I am sure they will share the same degree of pride at what we have created, as I do. I am so grateful for their help and professionalism.
Stuart Kaye Director and Co-Founder at Adams Kaye.
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